Omni Daily Crush: "The Big Orange Splot"
As a kid, I was blessed with a marvelous picture-book library (mostly due to the generosity of my children's librarian aunt). My best-loved volumes live on in my living room, where I enjoy sharing them with wee guests. But I recently became aware of a gap in my collection--I had a serious hankering for The Big Orange Splot, which arrived on my scene in the late '70s and somehow got lost in my shuffle to adulthood. Happily, an Amazon package landed on the porch yesterday, reuniting me with Mr. Plumbean.
This particular splot was the work of a seagull, who--out of malice? carelessness? exhaustion? it's not clear--dropped a can of orange paint on Mr. Plumbean's house, blighting his "neat street" and drawing sympathy from his neighbors. But the splot snapped something in Mr. Plumbean, and rather than repaint his house back to drab, he painted--under cover of night--until his house was "like a rainbow. It was like a jungle. It was like an explosion. There was the big orange splot.... And there were pictures of elephants and lions and pretty girls and steamshovels." Then come the palm trees, boababs, and prangipani. Then a hammock and an alligator (chained and lounging).
When the neighbors' shouting doesn't faze him and an appointed representative arrives to talk sense, they sip lemonade all night, while Mr. Plumbean says things like, "My house is me and I am it. My house is where I like to be, and it looks like all my dreams." As his neighbors (one by one) experience his place, they return home to transform their own space into manifestations of their own weird, wonderful imaginations.
This is not a beautiful book--the drawings look like they were done with those nicely smelly markers, possibly by a skilled 8-year-old. The idea that Mr. Plumbean could transform his home (complete with clock tower) and plant an entire garden in under a week is clearly preposterous. But I missed this story so much I had to have it back--in the durable School & Library Binding format, no less--because my husband and I have spent the last five or so years giving ourselves pep talks and spending all our "free" moments building, painting, and planting. Because our house is us and we are it. Our house is where we like to be, and it looks like all our dreams. (See what they look like on HGTV's Gardening by the Yard on August 16, if you don't mind getting up at 7:30 a.m.) --Mari
Swapna Raghu Sanand on July 15, 2009 at 11:35 PM
I loved this post. It is so peppy and lovable, just like the orange splot. Keep writing.
Best,
Swapna
http://twitter.com/Svara
http://petalsfromtheheart.blogspot.com/
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Mari Malcolm on July 16, 2009 at 09:57 AM
Swapna, it's not even 10 a.m. yet here in Seattle, and you've already made my day. Thank you! :)
--Mari
Daniel on July 17, 2009 at 02:57 PM
Your house is you and you are indeed your house, Mari! I can't wait to see what summer has brought to your garden in terms of progress. I hope it will be soon!
Western Reader on August 16, 2009 at 02:02 PM
Mari...Just watched "Gardening by the Yard" -- your garden/backyard is amazing! What a delight to see your husband's creative ironwork and your talent with gardening brought together into a terrific whole. Congratulations.
diecast cars on May 06, 2010 at 04:27 PM
The orange is a citrus fruit that has healing properties because it is acidic and this acid is depurative and oxidant disinfectant and microbicidia (like most citrus fruits). A long list of diseases and the actions that are favorable to its juice is also sweet and refreshing drink consented by the body. The orange, lemon and tangerine citrus fruits are more lime content, element of our blood and bones. The orange contains high levels of citric acid, magnesium, phosphorus and iron.
dental care on May 14, 2010 at 07:43 AM
The orange contains different substances that improve the health of the body. These include calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, potassium, sodium and vitamins. In particular, calcium facilitates the development of bones in children. Phosphorus is highly necessary in cases of stress, nervous people and poisoning. Iron helps the blood hemoglobinización.